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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
I usually struggle to enjoy French literature and never get an explanation as to why that happens, and yet, this book proved to me that some books are an amazing exception and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Flaubert, just like every reader of Don Quixote, liked how he apparently was driven to madness due to reading too much and decided to write a similar theory for Madame Bovary. So we get the story of a young woman whose life is ruined and who suffers because of the ideals she enjoyed in books, the adventures and passions she lived through pages and that she wanted to have in real life.
I felt sympathy towards Emma, I thought she was probably hated and set as a bad example for her time (both in fiction and in the world by readers) due to her being a woman who craved manly passions. For the 19th century, a woman who wasn’t content with her sort, felt dissatisfied in her marriage, wanted sexual encounters and never felt satisfied were all masculine traits and feelings that would be considered normal, but for a woman who was supposed to be content with her lot of staying at home wherever her husband chose that was, administrating the money instead of using for personal purposes and finding a reason to live in her children and husband, she broke all the rules possible.
What makes this story work is the parody of romantic elements Flaubert used like those moments of desperation for love that could end in death, the exaggeration in feeling and the must do things like writing love letters of courtship for someone you actually feel nothing for.
Flaubert’s writing, the emotional, witty, the sarcastic and the comedic parts equally made this novel enjoyable and one impossible to forget.
Well, one thing is certainly true, Flaubert could write. Beautiful. Although because of the translation it felt a tiny bit shaky at times. It made me wish I knew French and had actually spent my time in secondary school in a useful way, perhaps learning things, like French. Because there's no way around it the original French version is probably ten times more beautiful. Flaubert was known for being a perfectionist with words.
A lot of people see this work as a tragedy. I have to agree, at least partly, it is very tragic. The poor woman! But for me, especially at the end, it felt like a black comedy. I found myself laughing at things, especially surrounding SPOILER ALERT a particular death. Maybe that's just my sick mind. I'm not sure how something can be so tragic and funny at the same time.
I loved the story. The way its built up is perfect. I might even just put the word genius out there. I have to say I didn't particularly like Madame Bovary, although I did feel a little bit sorry for her at times, but I was still interested in what happened to her. What her next romantic adventure would be. If anyone would find out. A novels got to be pretty damn good, though, if you don't particularly like the protagonist but you do still want to read the book. I seem to be reading lots of books like that at the moment. Or maybe I just don't like other people in general, haha.
If you're into literature at all, I think this is definitely a must read. I'll be reading it again and I also look forward to more Flaubert!
A lot of people see this work as a tragedy. I have to agree, at least partly, it is very tragic. The poor woman! But for me, especially at the end, it felt like a black comedy. I found myself laughing at things, especially surrounding SPOILER ALERT a particular death. Maybe that's just my sick mind. I'm not sure how something can be so tragic and funny at the same time.
I loved the story. The way its built up is perfect. I might even just put the word genius out there. I have to say I didn't particularly like Madame Bovary, although I did feel a little bit sorry for her at times, but I was still interested in what happened to her. What her next romantic adventure would be. If anyone would find out. A novels got to be pretty damn good, though, if you don't particularly like the protagonist but you do still want to read the book. I seem to be reading lots of books like that at the moment. Or maybe I just don't like other people in general, haha.
If you're into literature at all, I think this is definitely a must read. I'll be reading it again and I also look forward to more Flaubert!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
liked the prose style and some of it was quite beautiful but i found the book in general quite boring, the ending was pretty affecting though and that was good. it was kind of like a French middlemarch #realism
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes